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Unit History: The Battle of Little Rock, 109 PA
Background: The Little Rock Front During the Uprising Little Rock was largely bypassed during the Juicer Uprising, which focused heavily on the southern half of the state. However, it did see a direct conflict between the Coalition States' 39th Infantry Brigade, tasked with route security to keep the Arkansas River supply route open, and a mid-size Juicer contingent made primarily of Dragon Juicers reinforced with some magical enhancement, probably from the Federation of Magic. The 39th did not stay to invest Little Rock after the Rising, instead investing the site now known as Coalition Army Activity Pine Bluff. Because of its position on the Arkansas River, the Coalition could not leave the ruins of Little Rock untended. Especially troubling was evidence that the previously inviolate Camp Robinson, on the north side of the river, was being explored by unknown entities. Arkansas occupied a deceptively strategic place in old American military thinking, with the area around Little Rock home to infantry training and staging areas, a major airlift terminal at the old Air Force Base, and the presence of the chemical-weapons plant at Pine Bluff south of the city attracting Coalition notice. Even before Fort El Dorado became the capital of the new Coalition state, Coalition forces had established Fort Jericho on the ruins of the Juicer mecca of Newtown, and established a strong base on top of the old chemical site at Pine Bluff. Continuous overflights of Little Rock from 106 onward by aviation troops out of Pine Bluff were inconclusive, and the Tolkeen War drew Coalition attention away from the situation in Arkansas for three years. Arkansas was the deployment site for several independent security regiments during the Tolkeen War. However, they stayed along the western and southern borders of the old state, with only occasional forays into the center to punish magical incursions or pursue creatures fleeing the St. Louis Rift. These security units were not up to the same standard as the Security Forces troops deployed to the Tolkeen and Quebec fronts, and were more interested in keeping the borders safe than pushing those same borders back. The acceptance of Fort El Dorado into the Coalition in 109 changed the state of affairs in Arkansas; immediately, plans for creating a high-speed rail system between Fort Jericho, Fort El Dorado, and the state of Lone Star began to develop. The extension of this rail plan to include Pine Bluff and a link to the Coalition city of New Chillicothe in Missouri demanded that the Emperor devote some of his resources to the stabilization of Arkansas, and the obvious dangers posed by Juicer remnants, the investigation of Camp Robinson, and the rumors of fabulous pre-Rifts records in the city of Little Rock itself all drew the Coalition into the region. Opening Moves: The Death's Head Division Arrives In June of 109 PA, the 3rd Security Forces Division deployed to Ft. El Dorado from their training base in Missouri. At this time, the division had not been issued its full quota of equipment, and much of what it had been issued was leftover Iron Heart Armaments equipment captured during the acquisition of the New Kenora factory complex. The division immediately occupied a cantonment east of Ft. El Dorado and began preparations for movement into Little Rock. Reconnaissance A brief reorganization of the division followed its acquisition of large numbers of Iron Heart armored vehicles, and these vehicles were first prioritized to the engineer, armor, and recon battalions. The engineers and recon units began their exploration of the Little Rock area on 1 July of 109. Initial investigation along the old American highway network showed a debris wall several miles south of the city; the engineers breached this over a period of several days. Reconnaissance troops pushed past the wall and reported the city was completely abandoned by all animals from insect to apex predator. A field command post was established in the ruins of the old Clinton Library complex, and platoon recon assignments made. The most dangerous of these was the scouting of old Camp Robinson, since it was well-known to have been equipped with automated defenses by the old American Empire. However, breaching and exploring Camp Robinson proved to be relatively easy. A significant firefight erupted between members of C Co., Death's Head Recon, and unknown forces masquerading as Coalition troops. The result was that the company was forced to stand in place and invest the old infantry school as their new headquarters. Foothold The Division followed the recon and engineer units into Little Rock three days earlier than planned. General Eckert arrived on-site on 7 July, appropriating the Clinton Library and Clinton Park for the divisional headquarters, field hospital, and artillery park. The old Little Rock airport was found to be perfectly serviceable, though all of the buildings had been destroyed by three centuries of neglect. A close-support squadron was flown in and set up operations by 10 July. Within days, the squadron had sustained its first casualty, losing 1LT Ernie Grimaldi to ground fire. This was not Grimaldi's first participation in Arkansas; he had won the Medal of Honor during the Uprising for flying interference over a downed transport plane for the better part of a day. The Division's first award ceremony, for the soldiers wounded during the firefight on Camp Robinson, was interrupted on the 15th by the delivery of a demand for Coalition withdrawal from the Little Rock area permanently, and the revelation that Grimaldi was alive. A hurried rescue operation ensued, resulting in the overrunning of the previously-hostile Camp Robinson ammunition supply point, Grimaldi's liberation, and the discovery that an infantry division's worth of equipment was cached there by the old American Empire, forgotten in the Empire's collapse. The Death's Head Reconnaissance Battalion, which had launched the attack more or less on its officers' initiative, sustained 30% casaulties during the attack, mostly non-lethal, and was rotated back to divisional headquarters for a brief recovery period. Its place was taken by 3rd Battalion, 5th "Death's Head" Regiment. 3/5th held the Camp Robinson area and began the push to clear the old Little Rock Air Force Base. Climax: The Battle of Big Rock Mountain The Ministry of Information notified General Eckert on the 20th that the Minister would be arriving at the end of the month to inspect the Division in place in Little Rock; he expected operations to be concluded before arrival. Eckert was reportedly furious, claiming that the Minister had no reason to be endangering himself, and was coming merely for his own entertainment. Nevertheless, he ordered plans for a general assault on the last major point of resistance on the 23rd. The night of the 22nd-23rd was spent in feverish preparation - troops which had been recuperating were pulled back to their units and everything made ready for one great battle. The strongest position in the Little Rock area was Big Rock Mountain, a ridgeline stretching between two hills, Hill 525 to the west and Hill 575 to the east. These hills had been cleared of brush, extensively entrenched and fortified, and prepared thoroughly for battle over a period of months. It is unknown what agency could persuade the normally restless Juicers to fortify their position rather than engaging in raids and harassment; however, they made the ridge nearly impregnable. An early reconnaissance by the Death's Head recon battalion accidentally alerted the defenses to the assault. Immediately, the battalion's commander accepted the opportunity and established a base of fire while small parties attempted to assault the trench works to force a breach. One of these, at the west end of Hill 525, was successful, with SP3 Gil Steel opening the trench system for a follow-on advance. The 5th Regiment, rushed up into its assault aisle, moved to exploit this breach, and fighting in the trench system ensued. For three hours, from 0600 to 0900, the Coalition worked its way east along the trench works. The 6th, then 3rd, Regiments pierced the outer trenchworks, though the 3rd got badly mauled in a draw immediately south of the crest of Hill 575. The division encountered much stiffer resistance than expected, with an aerial battle raging between mercenaries fighting alongside the Juicer resistance and General Eckert's command SAMAS platoon. His presence was sorely missed on the battlefield below, and much of his immediate retinue died in the encounter; however, Eckert kept the airborne attack off of his troops for the most part. Juicer artillery worked much greater damage on the Coalition lines, having already pre-targeted their own firebays and obvious casualty collection points. Only dedicated sniper fire suppressing the Juicer artillery spotters kept their artillery from completely stalling the Coalition offensive. The defining moment in the fight came with the assault on the crest of Hill 525, the western hill, which straightened the Coalition lines across the ridge and allowed them to advance evenly towards Hill 575. SP3 Steel, the trooper who had opened the breach at the western end, died in this assault. Seeing that the battle was lost, the Juicer resistance melted to the northeast, rapidly outdistancing Coalition pursuit. Eckert attempted pursuit, and reported a stretch of ground ten miles from the battle as completely pacified, but the pursuit was inconclusive. Aftermath The Minister's Visit When the Minister arrived on 1 August 109, the burial parties had finished burying the Coalition dead atop the hills where they had fallen. Appalled at the brutal cost of clearing the two hills, the Minister rushed the paperwork for a wide variety of awards through. He had not expected that the Division would take the damage that it did; rumors say that General Eckert's treatment of the Minister was brutal at best over the treatment of his troops. The Minister announced that the division had received the coveted Imperial Distinguished Unit Citation, the right to wear distinctive insignia, and a wide spread of individual awards. Of these, the highest was reserved for SP3 Steel, who had died during the culminating assault on Hill 525. Consequences for the Coalition State of El Dorado The Coalition States invested the complex around the old Clinton Library immediately upon arriving in town; this complex became known as Fort Clinton, and was occupied even after the Death's Head units were forced to pull back to recuperate. Fort Clinton, located immediately next to the old city airport, was easily defended, and port facilities began to grow to allow trade on the Arkansas River. The immediate result of the battle was that the state of El Dorado became secure southwest of the Arkansas River, with Little Rock becoming an active archaeological site as well as a defensive strongpoint. Consequences for the Death's Head Division The Death's Head division was badly mauled; General Eckert received permission to pull them back to their original assembly area in Arkansas to train new recruits, reconfigure, and begin to train for further operations. As part of the concessions wrung from the Minister, he oversaw the transformation of the Death's Head division from a straight-leg infantry division to a mobile division, equipped with power armor and helicopters where possible and configured for rapid delivery when helicopters become unfeasible. Ninety days were allowed for this reconfiguration, and the result was a larger, faster, stronger division. Consequences for the Security Forces The battle was taken as validating the Security Forces divisions; one of the Minister's announcements upon arrival was that three new Security Forces divisions would be formed in areas where the Coalition faced ongoing difficulties - Minnesota, Michigan, and Arkansas. These three, he hinted, were merely the beginning of a new era.